Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences (WUAS) is a dynamic higher education institute with its headquarters in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn. WUAS has held degree-awarding powers since 1996, and was established in 1987. It is one of the few 100% English-speaking higher education institutes in the Netherlands and its 1,200 students and staff represent over 100 nationalities.
Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences is continuing to develop into the only private university of applied sciences offering a broad range of Bachelor and Master programmes across various disciplines, with a predominant focus on the business and/or management in those domains.
WUAS aims to develop to the level of a so-called ‘boutique’ university; that is to say, a university that maintains a constant student body of around 1,500 high-quality students, and maintains a national degree-awarding power and can develop and sustain multiple accreditations, staff development, an applied sciences research profile, and an international profile.
WUAS strives for all its programmes to share a common framework, within a systems approach, quality system that is managed centrally from the board, and that the programmes have three distinct characteristics in common:
- All programmes will look at the management of people, products or processes or a combination of these.
- All programmes will have diversity, internationalisation and ethics as key elements.
- The concept of sustainability and sustainable economies will run through all programmes.
WUAS’ goal is to develop into a broad business and management-orientated university of applied sciences in various professional fields, such as Business & Entrepreneurship, Hospitality & Tourism, Arts & Technology, Health & Social Care, and Education. The university will maintain quality through maintaining a vigorous and transparent accreditation cycle for its programmes, ensuring dialogue with its students and staff through their active involvement of the accreditation and validation processes.
WUAS will strive to continue developing modern methods of teaching and learning that meet the changing needs of society and technology. Within its role as a higher education institute, WUAS supports life-long learning through the development and implementation of up-to-date and industry-driven professional programmes aimed at corporate employees and individuals.
In the long-term, WUAS’ ambitions are to achieve the highest research degree (doctoral) award powers, preferably in the Netherlands.
Vision & Mission
“Better Yourself, Better Our World”
Vision:
To become a recognised university of applied sciences with an international, innovative approach to higher education, creating life-changing opportunities and to advance the development and dissemination of knowledge in partnerships with the (business) community.
Mission:
To promote excellence in teaching and learning international business and management, as well as to create the best environment for students and staff, where internationalisation, diversity and ethics are setting the premises for successfully applied, research-informed global learning.
Values: Internationalisation, Diversity and Ethics
Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences sees its role as the education and training of highly qualified, internationally minded, socially responsible and intercultural, critical and independently thinking graduates, who engage in innovative and creative business in companies and organisations around the world, either working for others or in the instigation of business and entrepreneurship. Wittenborg embraces internationalisation as a key value.
To achieve this, the university engages in close dialogue with industry, government and NGOs. WUAS strives to bring expertise, knowledge and diversity to the local region in which it operates, thereby enhancing the economy, culture and social environment around the university.
WUAS’ outlook is global, and it aims to maintain its independent status whilst being one of the most international and diverse higher education institutions in the Netherlands. The university promotes total equality of students and staff, of cultures, gender, and people with disabilities within the institute. WUAS promotes a working environment that is fair, and emphasises respect between and within its student and staff body. Wittenborg embraces diversity as a key value.
The practical applied sciences that are engaged within WUAS’ programmes enable the university to maintain up-to-date content within a diverse range of management-orientated disciplines, and to implement the curriculum to the highest modern education standards. As a university of applied sciences, Wittenborg sees as important an interdisciplinary approach to higher education, which is reflected in the cross-disciplinary, broad management programmes that allow students to develop their knowledge, skills and development through applied research in a manner that is not subject constrictive.
WUAS’ motto expresses the commitment to offer higher education where students and staff understand that ethics plays a central role in their every decision. Guided by well-established ethical and moral standards, such as honesty and integrity, unified we strive for a better tomorrow: Better Yourself - Better Our World. Wittenborg embraces ethics as a key value.
